The present invention relates to lint collecting devices, and more particularly to lint collecting devices in a domestic dryer.
Lint collecting devices in domestic clothes dryers are well known, in fact virtually every domestic dryer has a lint collecting device. Such devices generally include a screen upon which the lint is captured when lint laden air exiting the dryer is caused to pass through the screen.
In some dryers the screen is positioned so that it can be removed from the front of the dryer. For example in U.S. Pat. No. 2,486,058 the lint screen forms part of a drawer which is centered at the top front of the dryer cabinet, above the dryer drum. To view and remove the screen, the user must pull on a handle on the drawer to expose the screen. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,764,820, the lint screen is positioned at a bottom corner of the dryer cabinet below the dryer drum. The screen is not visible until the screen is pulled from the dryer cabinet, however the specification suggests that the use will be warned that the lint trap needs emptying when lint begins to accumulate on the floor in front of the dryer. U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,851 discloses a lint collector which is positioned in a centered location at the front of the dryer cabinet near the bottom of the cabinet, below the dryer drum. The lint collecting tray is caused to move to an open position each time the dryer door is opened to remind the user to clean the screen. The screen is not visible until the tray is moved to an open position.